Chapter 10 - Cerebral microbleeds in relation to cerebrovasculardisease

Summary

This chapter provides an overview of the prevalence and associations, temporal evolution and prognostic significance of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in patients with cerebrovascular diseases. The spatial distribution of microbleeds, as markers of small vessel microhemorrhagic or microaneurysmal lesions, may be of particular interest in attempts to understand the causes of macroscopic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in life. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is an important cause of primary ICH, particularly of lobar location. Chronic hypertension has been repeatedly identified as a strong influence on the frequency and extent of CMBs, in patients with established stroke as well as in healthy subjects without stroke. Hypertension is an important risk factor for CMBs. As CMBs reflect the bleeding tendency of the brain through fragile microvascular walls, interest has increased in utilizing CMBs in risk stratification of hemorrhagic complications for patients with antithrombotic treatment.